We Will Fix This: A Story of Writer Twitter

There is always a lot of need floating around on the internet. From massive organizations to one person’s medical bills, everyone turns to their expanded social network to raise funds. Many people in Writer Twitter can’t afford to donate, but we collectively have a network of millions, and sometimes, when life gives someone a flat tire, Writer Twitter steps up to fix it.

During #Socktober, I got tipped off to the event by another writer. As a result, my friends and I donated hundreds of pairs of socks to local shelters. Even my publisher, Pandamoon, got in on it.

When my writer-friend had emergency surgery, we crowdsourced the cost and turned a potential financial disaster into a mild inconvenience.

When a friend wrote a brilliant book but couldn’t afford the cost of self-publishing, Writer Twitter came together and got one job done at a time; editing, proofreading, cover art, and so on, until the book was released.

And right now, we’re doing it again.

A writer who has pushed for diversity and community in SFF applied for a grant from the SFWA to help cover the medical costs of a serious physical illness. She got a letter of approval…and then one that said “Oops, sorry, we didn’t mean to send you that. Best of luck!”

The amount of money is negligible to an established organization like the SFWA, but would have made a world of difference to a writer struggling with medical costs. The SFWA screwed up big time.

But Writer Twitter stepped up.

A storm of tweets and retweets blew in. Over the last few hours, we have raised $2000 of the $4500 it will take to replace the broken promise made by the SFWA. We’re still going.

People who do good, especially people who do good via internet, are very rarely noticed or lauded. They get to help someone else out, and know that if they need that support network someday, it will try to be there for them, too.

But that’s not good enough for me, so I’m going to boost some of the writers who stepped in and made a difference in someone’s life today.